AOL has acquired Michael Arrington's US-based technology blog TechCrunch in a deal thought to be worth about $25m.

For AOL, which in June offloaded social networking site Bebo for about $10m, the acquisition of TechCrunch represents its latest move to boost its editorial content since being demerged from Time Warner. The estimated $25m price tag is a far cry from the $850m AOL paid for Bebo in 2008.

TechCrunch will join AOL's network of websites including web magazine Engadget and Switched, which looks at the digital influence on areas such as entertainment and sports.

Arrington founded TechCrunch in 2005 to provide news and analysis on internet companies. Since then the company, which now has about 40 staff, has expanded its portfolio of websites to include Mobile Crunch, CrunchGear, Green Tech, TechCrunchITV, TechCrunchTV and CrunchBase.

The TechCrunch founder wrote in a blogpost that talks started in earnest in late July based on a "commitment to keep doing what we do".

"The truth is I was tired," said Arrington. "But I wasn't tired of writing, or speaking at events. I was tired of our endless tech problems, our inability to find enough talented engineers who wanted to work, ultimately, on blog and CrunchBase software. And when we did find those engineers, as we so often did, how to keep them happy. Unlike most startups in Silicon Valley, the centre of attention at TechCrunch is squarely on the writers. It's certainly not an engineering driven company."

Arrington described AOL as a "perfect fit" and said that he believed in the corporate giant's management team "enough to bet our company on them".

He reiterated that the clincher was AOL's newfound commitment to editorial – in June David Eun, the president of AOl's studios and media division, made the bold statement that the company was going to be the "largest net hirer of journalists in the world next year". Arrington added that TechCrunch would remain independent and that "You probably won't see a lot of glowing blogposts about AOL in general".

Arrington said he intends to stay on at AOL for a "very, very long time", although observers believe he will stay a few years at most, with the entire team given "big incentives to stay on board for at least three years".

"TechCrunch and its team will be an outstanding addition to the high-quality content on the AOL Technology Network, which is now a must-buy for advertisers seeking to associate their brands with leading technology content and its audience," said Armstrong in a statement.

Arrington has a high profile – if at times abrasive – reputation in the technology world. In May, Yahoo chief executive Carol Bartz told the TechCrunch editor to "fuck off" at a conference after he criticised the internet giant's performance.

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